We spent two fabulous nights with our lovely friend Anne in Liverpool. Anne and I have been online friends for four years now and it was just excellent being able to meet in the flesh. She is every bit as generous and gracious as I knew she would be. Thank you for making us feel so totally welcome – we all love you!
We arrived in Liverpool and battled the maze of a city to drop Jamie off as she was meeting one of her second life friends as well. Mark and I then headed out to Anne’s place, where we all sat in the back garden enjoying the sunshine. Anne has gone crook on us for spending more time in the south of England, rather than the north – and after a couple of days in the north, I can tell why. It really is lovely – but it just means we have to come back and visit again! We picked Jamie up from the local railway station and headed into the pub for dinner – what a meal! I would have to say it has been the best meal we’ve had in England so far. I am sure, however, that it was nowhere near as good as the chili Anne had made for us! I am not a fan, and I think I will not live that down for a long time *wink*.
Friday was Beatles day! (YAY!). My other long-time online friend Kirsty came down to meet us for the day. Kirsty and I ran a ‘Beatles’ party in Second Life every week for three years, and so it was entirely appropriate (and much wanted) that we could all go to the museum together. I cannot describe how exciting (and a little surreal) it is to meet up with close friends, that you have never met ‘in the flesh’ before. Needless to say, I was a little teary! So, the Beatles Museum – well, I was beside myself with excitement. I can’t believe I was actually THERE! And I know I am harping on this a little, but it was just made all the more perfect to have Anne and Kirsty there as well.
We wandered through the exhibition, and I was just so thrilled to see so many parts of it. It’s really well laid out, and does indeed tell the Beatles story. At the beginning, there are a pair of white leather shoes that belonged to Elvis, not sure how they really fitted in, but they were pretty cool nevertheless. I saw John Lennon’s Mohair collarless suit, the Sgt. Pepper’s album cover cutouts, some fabulous memorabilia that I haven’t seen before (including the elusive Russian matryoska dolls), and to top it all off, John’s white baby grand. There was a section that was a recreation of the Cavern Club, and it gave both Anne and I goose bumps when we walked in. There were some excellent exhibits of the things that each of the Beatles did when they went solo as well – and Jamie and I got a photo of us having a bit of a bed-in with John and Yoko. Naturally there was a shop at the end, and I got some great nick-knacks and a very cool Apple t-shirt. Mark got himself a Yellow Submarine t-shirt.
We went for a wander after that, up to Mathew Street. It has some real atmosphere, and I could well imagine what it would have been like in the early sixties. I still couldn’t believe I was actually there! We saw where the entrance to the original Cavern Club was, and a few doors down, we got to head into the newly built and well represented Cavern Club. Heading down the stairs, I was almost beside myself. I could hear a guy on a guitar singing Beatles songs, he was bloody fantastic to say the least. Grabbed a drink, grabbed a Cavern Club t-shirt and grabbed a seat to join in a sing-a-long! His last song was “Hey Jude” – we call it the banana song – and it was a perfect ending for us. We all sang along loudly (and much better than some woman up the front) and Jamie grabbed a video which I am sure will appear on facebook soon enough. There aren’t really words to describe how perfect that moment was, and I know I will remember it for the rest of my life. This may seem melodramatic, but between Kirsty, Anne and I – it’s a very special, and very apt moment.
All good things must come to an end, and it was time to say goodbye to the lovely Kirsty, and then the next morning, to the wonderful Anne. There is something special about friends who share time online, where our only communication is via words typed on a screen. You get to know people really well that way, and I would challenge anyone who thinks that the friendships formed are not as genuine or intimate as any formed in ‘the real world’. Kirsty and Anne are very close friends indeed, and I was thrilled to ‘meet’ them, and spend time with them. It is one part of these holidays that I will always treasure. It was so hard to say goodbye, but, really, like Anne said, it was “see you later” not goodbye.
No comments:
Post a Comment